scarecrow: the early years
by alienn
Summary: Basically a prequel for Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow & Batman series. It's about a girl and how she changes him. *Snorts* Isn't it always? For better or for worse though... you'll have to read and find out.
1. jonathan crane

This is going to start off as a prequel to the Batman movies. Basically it's showing the earlier years of Jonathan Crane. Hope you all like it!

* * *

It was late at night when Katherine decided she would go for her usual jog.

The autumn air felt crisp, there was a slight breeze and it wasn't too cold yet. God knows Gotham winters were a bitch.

As she finished lacing up her shoes, she tied her long dark brown hair into a ponytail and took her keys to lock the door behind her. She took a swig of water from her bottle before stretching for a few minutes and then taking off.

It was her every other day thing; especially when she was stressed. It was her senior year and already it was proving to be difficult. On top of learning routines for her dance team, she already had a boatload of studying to do for her mid-terms coming up in just over a month. If she wanted to get into a good school, she had to stay focused. She wasn't letting herself date any boys; no matter how many she had over her shoulder, and she wasn't getting into the usual petty high school drama that she usually got into. She almost didn't make it last year with all the partying she did and she wasn't going to let it happen again. She was going to be an adult in just a few short hours and her act had cleaned up pretty nicely just in time.

As she neared the ratty old bridge just a few minutes away from her house, she noticed something ahead. It looked like it was a person. It was too dark to see who it could be but she noticed they were climbing over the rail, and she pushed faster. Whoever it was, they looked as if they were ready to jump. And jumping into the Henley canal was not a way to go and die.

"Hey!" she shouted.

Her legs burned from how hard she pushed on and as she neared her breath caught in her throat.

It was Jonathan Crane.

"Jonathan don't jump!" she shouted again and slowed as she neared a few feet away from him.

"Stay back." He said, as calmly as he could with tears in his eyes.

He was wearing his usual bland-colored slack pants and a sweater. His hair was up in different places as if he'd pulled at it constantly. His glasses, usually perched on the crook of his nose were now on the floor, cracked. He looked a mess and Katherine was wracking through her brain about what to do in these situations.

They were both in psychology together.

If she tried any of the psychology bullshit, he'd know. He was just as smart as she was, if not smarter. So she coughed and set her water bottle down and sucked in a deep breath before inching forward.

Jonathan watched her with narrowed eyes as she grabbed onto the railing and hoisted herself up. She wobbled slightly as she held onto one of the old rusty poles and stood on the rail with ease after a moment. She looked down and swallowed hard before looking at Jonathan.

"This is weird." She mumbled.

Jonathan just looked at her. She looked up at him and noticed how red his eyes were. There was a bruise covering the left side of his face near his eye. She knew how he got it. Most likely from his grandmother.

They were neighbors so she knew a thing or two about what went on next door. The old lady wasn't too quiet about it. It wasn't like she was always snoopy when she was younger. Some things she just found out because they happened in plain sight. She was about eleven years old when she was walking her dog out down the street and she had seen his grandmother smack him right in the face. It was something she'd never forget and she saw it now.

18-year-old Jonathan Crane being smacked around by his grandmother.

Clearing her throat, having gotten lost in her thoughts momentarily, she held onto the pole tightly.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly.

Jonathan looked away, wiping his eyes on his sleeves.

"I'm tired of being afraid." He said coldly.

"Afraid of what?" she asked.

The boy remained silent as the wind picked up slightly and Katherine cursed herself for having getting involved.

"Listen, there's nothing to be afraid of. You don't have to be. And jumping off this bridge… it's… it's just a permanent solution to a temporary problem." She told him.

_The Henley canal?_ Katherine still couldn't believe this was happening.

Jonathan let out a deep chuckle.

"Easy for you to say."

That made a sudden spark of anger flare.

"I mean it, Crane." She huffed.

"Katherine Elizabeth Marsden," he started, "Lives at home with two loving parents who are both doctors, wants to become one herself, has perfect grades and a perfect dog at home, with a perfect body and perfect friends who isn't afraid of any-"

"Okay, stop!" she shouted. "Not everything in my life is perfect, and this isn't about me so don't bring all that up, alright? This is about you. Man up and face your fears. Get over them. Whatever you're scared of, end it." She said angrily and he was quietly analyzing her words.

After a few quiet minutes, Jonathan sniffed and then started to retreat down.

Katherine watched him and let out a deep breath she hadn't known she was holding the moment he started moving. As soon as he landed on the road, he started to turn around and walk back.

"Asshole." She muttered.

As she turned her body, her foot suddenly slipped and she fell off, her arms catching the railing just in time and she let out a scream. The canal was a good ten to fifteen feet below them and she did not want to know what was lying under the murky water. She was not going to slip off.

"Jonathan!" she screamed out.

Was he going to let her hang there?

"Jonathan, please! Help me!" she shouted again.

There was no sign of him being anywhere near her and her eyes suddenly filled up with tears. Her arms were getting tired and her legs were getting restless from kicking and trying to find a place to put them. She could only let them hang helplessly.

"Please, I don't want to die here! Jonathan!" she shouted louder.

Suddenly, there he was, looming over her.

"Jonathan, please!" she said quickly.

Her arms gave out and she was hanging on with both hands for dear life.

"You're afraid of drowning?" he asked.

"Afraid of _drowning_? God no, I was on a swim team you idiot, I'm afraid of dying! Please fucking help me!" she screamed in tears.

Frowning, he leaned in and slipped his hands under her arms and hoisted her up as much as he could. He was surprisingly stronger than he thought he'd be. And her. She was surprised by how easily he had picked her up but she didn't dwell on it too long as her feet touched the railings and she brought her arms around and kicked her leg over. She jumped down and he stood right in front of her as her legs gave out and he held onto her. She felt tired. She looked up at him and noticed his glasses were on his nose and the lenses were cracked really bad.

"You see," she whispered, "I'm not perfect." She shrugged and he stared at her.

Her legs had given out and she fell on her knees as she caught he breath.

"Happy birthday." He said quietly as he stood and turned away.

The dull lights from the bridge flickered on and off like they usually did and she felt a few tears roll down her cheek. Having a near-death experience usually took a toll on a person. She stayed there for about half an hour before going back home, ending her jog early.

The next morning, Katherine woke up early to get ready for school. Last night's event was pushed to the back of her mind as she got ready for the day. She had to stay positive and not dwell on the negative. It was Friday after all, and…

"I'm 18 today." She told herself as she looked in the mirror.

Was something supposed to change? Were her boobs going to grow bigger? Her hair longer? Was she supposed to grow an extra toe?

_No. _

But now she was legal to buy tobacco products, rent cheap motel rooms, and go to clubs.

"_Fun_." She said to herself.

Rolling her eyes, she got dressed and heard a slight commotion downstairs.

After a while, she decided to head down, having smelled breakfast being made and she smiled to herself.

Quietly, she made her way to the kitchen and before she entered, she snuck a peak around. There were balloons tied to the chair she usually sat in on the breakfast bar, and there was a plate full of pancakes and bacon. Her mother, tall and slender had her robe hanging loose off her with an apron overtop. Her usually nicely combed hair was up in a messy bun and she was frantically walking around making sure everything was perfect.

"Happy Birthday!" She heard from behind as a pair of hands squeezed her sides and she let out a loud yelp.

"Dad!" she whined.

Her father, Greg Marsden laughed and her mother turned around hastily as their dog barked loudly hearing more commotion.

"You weren't supposed to be up for another few minutes, I wasn't done." She said and frowned.

Katherine bent down to ruffle their dogs fur a bit as he excitedly licked her fingers from the sudden attention he got.

She rolled her eyes, "Mom, everything looks pretty perfect to me."

Suddenly she remembered Jonathan's speech from last night.

Bile built up in the back of throat and she stepped forward to grab the glass of freshly squeezed orange juice her mom had made her and downed half of it.

"Whoa, honey, take it easy, you okay?" she asked, walking around the counter to step in front of her daughter.

Katherine nodded, "I got excited, sorry. You hardly ever have time to make juice like you used to when I was little." She shrugged and her mother beamed, leaning in to give her daughter a hug.

"Well, it's not everyday that my little baby turns 18." She said.

"Alright, alright, let me dig into these pancakes now, I'm starving." She said and her mother laughed as the dog barked again happily.

The rest of her time at home was spent laughing and reminiscing about past when 'their little Katie turned four' and when 'Katie refused to take off her witch costume for a whole month after Halloween'. Basically it was their parents wanting to torture her with embarrassing stories.

As she left the house that morning to walk to the corner, Her mom decided she'd drop her off that morning since she didn't go into work until later that night. She had glanced out to Jonathan's house while waiting and she noticed his grandmother wasn't outside smoking a cigarette like she usually was every morning before she left. And Jonathan wasn't standing at the corner waiting for the bus like he usually did either. That was odd.

When she got to school and stepped foot in the hallway, she sighed at the familiar chatter noise all around her.

_It's too early for this_, she thought to herself.

"Katie!" she heard a shriek come from behind her. "Happy birthday baby!" a petite blonde shouted.

"Hi Natalie." Katherine said with a smile, "Thank you."

Katherine was smothered as her friend hugged her hard.

"So guess what?! Now that you're finally 18, we can hit the clubs together! You have no idea how long I've been waiting to say that!" her friend said excitedly.

"Four months?" she said and laughed.

"Yes! And you deserve a good night out. You haven't done shit in like… forever. I miss partying with you, it's not the same." Her friend frowned.

Natalie Pearce was the human incarnation of Tinkerbell, just nicer. She was short, blonde with blue eyes and she had some curves. She was full of sass when needed but was usually just a ball of excitement. They had been best friend since middle school.

Katherine looked down at her best friend and shrugged, "I told you I'm good. I'm not… I just don't wanna deal with all that again, you know?" she said.

"Yes, but you deserve a good, fun night out. Bradley said so too."

Bradley Renner was her hot, blonde football-playing boyfriend of two years. His brother, Will, a younger yet still equally hot version, had the biggest crush on Katherine and no matter how many times she declined, he still went after her. He was probably the one who wanted her to go out anyway so he could try and bother her. Like always.

"Not interested." She said.

"Think about it. You say the word and there's a party happening at my house, you know daddy's gone for the weekend." Her best friend smiled sweetly and knowingly.

Her dad who owned an expensive car dealership in Central Gotham was always away every month taking trips to expensive islands with various younger woman. That's how it was ever since her parents divorced. Natalie never minded it though, she knew her parents hated each other and the only reason they stayed together long enough was because of her. She never let that get to her though. She was a tough, feisty little thing.

"Do what your little heart desires. We'll see if I show up or not." Katherine laughed.

Natalie's eyes lit up and she jumped up and down, "Oooh, I know what that means! You are the best! I'm texting Brad, oh I cannot wait! This is going to be awesome, my baby is growing up! See you later in Spanish!" her friend said, all in a rush, and sped down the hall to head upstairs.

Katherine rolled her eyes as she made her way to her English class and sat down in her usual seat.

She glanced around the class and sighed. There was a substitute that day so they'd be watching a movie instead of their usual book work. As the teacher called role, she called Jonathan Crane. He didn't answer.

"Sick freak is probably at home doing his grandma." Shelly, a mean girl who sat a few rows away from her had said.

Shelly was always leading Jonathan on and it annoyed Katherine more than it should.

All throughout the day there was one thing in the back of her mind.

Jonathan Crane, who had a near-perfect attendance schedule since she'd known him, had been absent.

* * *

So, this is the first chapter, also just a taste of what's to come! I'm still planning the story out but I have a pretty good idea of what I want it to become. It's not my number one priority, since I have work and all that, but I wanted to get all of this out of my head and onto here because I've been having Crane feels since I watched the movie one night again and was all ;lkdwoeidkwoeid I gotta write a fic now! haha.

I should update sparingly as much as I can when I get the chance! So for now, just leave reviews and let me know what you think so far and if you're interested enough to see where I go with it :)


	2. pricks

The next morning, Katherine woke up sore and not in her bed.

She took a look at her surroundings and sighed, closing her eyes once again.

This is what she hadn't wanted. She didn't want to wake up and not remember bits and pieces of her night. It was what she was perfectly avoiding for the first few months since school had started. And just like that, with one shot of tequila she had succumbed back to it.

"Good morning sunshine!" her friend's cheerful voice sang.

"Mmmm." Katherine mumbled.

"Damn girl, you were wild last night! I haven't seen you that free in months." Natalie laughed.

Katherine groaned, "How bad was it?"

"Not that bad, not what you're thinking probably, but I mean… you had fun. Which is all that matters." She smiled.

"Ugh." Katherine groaned again and stretched as much as she could before yawning and sitting up.

Her hair was in loose curls and all over the place. She was still in her dress from last night too and she frowned. Something was still gnawing at her.

"Did Will and I…"

"Oh. That." Her friend pursed her lips before nodded.

"Fuck." Katherine breathed.

"You guys just kissed, it wasn't a big deal." she waved away.

Suddenly, it was all coming back to her. She had a splitting headache as she thought about it. How she had grabbed Will by the jacket and planted a big one on him. Right after that he roughly pushed her up against the wall and they made out hot and heavy for a few minutes. She covered her eyes trying to forget the memory but it was forever engraved in her mind.

"I'm a cradle robber now!" she moaned and Natalie laughed.

"It was actually kind of hot the way you took control and then you guys disappeared into the hallway. I had to keep an eye on you. But damn. These Renner boys know how to kiss a girl." Natalie said and Katherine sighed.

"So anyways, I'm going home. I have a headache and I want to sleep this hangover off in my own comfortable bed thank you very much. Thank you for the party, it was great. From what I remember." She laughed as she stood and stretched once again, a few popping noises being made in the process.

"Oh, you are very welcome. You are free to come back to the party scene whenever you'd like if it's gonna be like that. It was so much fun." Natalie said and Katherine's eyes narrowed.

Her best friend was immune to hangovers no matter how much she drank and she was slightly jealous of her for it.

"Yeah yeah. You perky bitch." She mumbled and Natalie started to crack up.

"_Will, I can't kiss you, but I want to so bad! Ugh, fuck it!_" she heard her friend say from down the hall.

"I did not say that!" Katherine shouted as she found her purse on the kitchen counter.

"You did!" her friend shouted back, laughing hysterically.

"Fuck!" she groaned, slapping her forehead.

Her keys and everything else she needed was in her purse and she found her shoes by one of the couches.

"Hey my soon to be sister-in-law." Bradley's voice said from behind the large couch.

Katherine looked over to see his blonde head poking out of a large comforter and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Is he here?" she asked.

"He's showering down the hall, make a run for it now!" he laughed.

"I hate the both of you." She slapped his head before slipping her shoes on and rushing out the house.

As soon as she made it home, she parked and sat in her car for a few minutes.

Looking over to the left, she noticed Jonathan's house. Stepping out of her car, she turned to observe it. It looked eerie and it seemed too quiet. Not even the birds were chirping around it today. It was odd. Looking down at her phone, she read that it was 11:42. The old woman usually left earlier than that on Saturdays to go to her tennis meet at the country club in the city. Maybe that's why it was so quiet. And then she remembered.

Yesterday at school she had picked up extra assignments from her teachers from the classes her and Jonathan had together. Which was half of them. She thought she'd do something nice and seeing as he never missed a day of school in years, she'd bring whatever work she could for him so he wouldn't fall behind.

_Like that would happen though._ He was a teenage genius.

When she got to her room, she went through her school back and took out a folder with all of the assignments. She walked downstairs and greeted her dog who had come in through the back doggy door that he somehow still managed to fit after all these years. Her parents weren't home so she figured they were at work and she walked out onto the road.

It was usually quiet this time of day. There weren't too many houses on the street so it wasn't always filled with cars passing by. Sometimes it was nicer to live a little away from the hustle and bustle of the city. As she walked the not so long distance to his house, she suddenly felt weary of walking on his property. The last time she did this, she was twelve and selling girl scout cookies to his grandmother who all but hit her to scare her off her doorstep.

_Should she risk it?_

Better yet, _why was she risking it?_

_Where had the sudden urge to see Jonathan Crane come from?_

As she debated this in her head, she had already made her way to the front steps of the porch. This house was slightly older looking than the rest of the houses on the street but it was still beautiful just the same. It was in foreclosure when Jonathan and his grandmother had moved in when he was ten. She was sure that they were living off his probably dead grandfather's money. Harsh, but true.

Taking a deep breath in, she knocked on the door three times.

A minute had passed and no answer.

Her breathing was shallow. She knocked again; thinking maybe whoever was in there hadn't heard her the first time. She saw something from the corner of her eye and noticed the curtain from the window flutter. She took a step back and the floorboard of the porch creaked under her weight.

"Jonathan?" she called.

Silence.

_This was stupid._

Backing up, she turned and started to head down the porch steps before she heard the door click and open.

Turning back around, she was wide-eyed when she looked at the boy. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this. It was as if the previous night had never happened. He was stood there, tall, and his hair was perfectly done. His glasses were still cracked the only indication that the incident had happened and wasn't a dream as she kept thinking to herself, but his clothes were clean and pressed and he looked calm, as usual. He looked hauntingly handsome.

If that made any sense; it did in her mind.

"Can I help you?" he said.

Deciding to take that as an invitation to talk, she walked back up the steps.

"I noticed you weren't in school yesterday." She started.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"And well, you never miss school."

Jonathan crossed his arms as he stared at her.

_Way to make a girl feel stupid_, she thought.

"Are you sick?" she asked.

"No." he answered.

"Are you… not feeling okay because of what happened the other night?"

"No, I'm feeling fine. Better than that actually, thanks to you." He said and she raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks to me?"

"I faced my fears. And I ended them." He smiled, though not showing his teeth.

That got Katherine thinking. What on earth were his fears? Was it drowning? Was it something more personal? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. So she cleared her throat.

"Um… okay. That's good. I uh, I came over to bring you your assignments that you missed from the classes we have together. We didn't do much in English, we just watched a movie. But here's the rest." She said as she handed the folder out to him.

Jonathan took the folder and looked through it. He nodded and looked back up at her.

"It's nothing I'd really miss." He said after a moment.

"Well, I just thought I would be a nice person and be helpful. Okay? It's not like you have many friends that would do that for you, so." She suddenly wanted to slap herself; that wasn't nice at all.

"I don't do friends." He merely said.

"You are so weird." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"I've been called worse." He shrugged, matching her stance.

"You're difficult too." She frowned.

"Keep going, what else can you add to the long list of things I am, please, enlighten me." He said, mocking her.

Katherine glared at him for a moment as he kept his pursed smile on.

"Ugh!" she groaned, ending their stare-off. "I'm done." She said, turning around.

Suddenly Jonathan stepped forward, "Wait."

Katherine stopped but she didn't look back.

"What?"

Jonathan cleared his throat, looking around awkwardly for a moment, hoping she didn't catch him before he composed himself again. He turned and disappeared into the dark house. Katherine turned around; curiosity peaking her interest. He returned and in his hand was a white rose. She stared at him, dumbfounded and then looked on skeptically.

"It's not going to bite me is it? Or poison me if I touch it?"

Jonathan almost laughed, but he kept himself composed, "No."

Biting her lip, she stared at it for a few more seconds before she gently took it from his hands. Her finger pricked itself on a thorn and she hissed.

"I'm not going to die right?" she asked quickly, blood oozing from the prick point.

Jonathan licked his thumb before taking her hand and wiping her finger.

"No, it's going to be fine. It's just a prick."

"I know a lot about those." She mumbled.

They were quiet as he stood back again and he cleared his throat.

"Okay. Well." He stepped back into the door way and she looked at him.

"Does this mean we're friends now? After eight years?" she asked.

Jonathan smiled softly, "No."

Katherine tried to ignore the slight disappointment tug inside of her.

"No, definitely not. Okay." She nodded.

She started to walk back down the steps and continued on down the long driveway without a glance back.

That was the single most bizarre moment of her entire life.


	3. question of murder

I'm not sure who I picture Katherine as yet, but I have who her parents are in mind: _Sandra Bullock_ as her mom; _Martin Freeman_ as her dad. Odd combo, I know. But I like it. So she would be somewhere in the middle, lol. She has her mom's looks but her dad's eyes and nose if that helps with what she looks like :)

* * *

A few days had passed.

It was a Wednesday when she heard the news.

Jonathan Crane's grandmother was dead.

It was the talk of the school for the entire day. Apparently, she hadn't shown up to her tennis match and when someone came looking for her a few days later, they smelled a foul scent coming from around the house so they snooped and decided to call the police. They found her body in her room at around ten in the morning on Tuesday.

They were in the middle of their psychology class when they pulled Jonathan out to question him.

There were rumors going around about how she died and how it happened. The cruder rumors were that he murdered her; that made Katherine feel sick to her stomach. Having to think about something like that. She wasn't sure if someone, as creepy as Jonathan Crane was, was capable of murder.

It was lunchtime and Katherine had walked around aimlessly, trying to dodge her friends. She passed the office a few times, knowing Jonathan was just in those doors and she heard a loud voice come from the open crack.

"Don't patronize me, boy!" the loud man's voice shouted.

Katherine froze and stood next to the door to listen in.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, alright? The coroner said she had to have been dead since at least the weekend. Where were you Friday, Saturday, and Sunday?" the man asked.

Katherine felt stupid suddenly, knowing that she was going to interfere in the interrogation, but she had to. She had to help him. They were neighbors. Despite everything, she was sure he was a nice guy who hadn't killed his old, batty grandmother.

Opening the door, she stepped in and all eyes turned to her.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step out please. We're in the middle of a-"

"He was with me this weekend." She cut the fat man in the suit off.

Everyone hushed and stared at her, wide-eyed. Even Jonathan who had turned in his seat.

"You're trying to tell me… a girl as pretty as you, was with… this boy? All weekend?" he asked.

"I'll ignore that comment for a moment, but yes. He was with me. We're neighbors. It was my birthday on Friday, and he spent the night this weekend. My parents had no idea because I'd sneak him in." she lied.

Katherine felt like she'd be sweating bullets any moment now. This was serious. This wasn't a game; it was real life. She had no idea if he really did kill his grandmother or not, but in her heart she wanted to believe he hadn't so she did what she could. She stood up for him and became his alibi. She was going to be in deep for this. She knew it.

The man laughed, his belly jiggling and she glared at him for a moment.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"No ma'am. We're going to have to take both of you downtown for further questioning though." He said as he crossed his arms.

Jonathan looked at her weirdly. She got defensive and crossed her arms as well.

"Principal Lawry, I hate to have wasted your time. I'll have my boys here escort these two out of the building." The man, who had the last name Rowe on his badge pinned to his shirt had said.

"No, it was no problem Agent Rowe. I'm sorry about all of this." Their principal had said.

"There's only one person who has to be sorry, and it's whoever murdered that sweet old lady."

Jonathan snorted and they all looked at him. He rolled his eyes and sighed as they grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him up. A second officer took Katherine by the arm and they escorted both students out of the building. As they made it to the front, Katherine caught glance of Natalie, whose eyes practically bulged out of her head seeing what was going on.

"What the fuck, Katherine!" she shouted.

All eyes in the hall had already been on them and there were numerous whisperings going on.

"What are you guys doing to her, that's my best friend!" the small girl shouted.

"Not now, Natty. I'll explain later." Katherine whispered harshly.

The blonde girl stared ahead, frozen in place and in shock.

They put the pair in a police cruiser and sped off downtown.

**x x x**

"What are you doing, you idiot!" Jonathan whispered to her in the car.

They had been driving for about twenty minutes in silence, the only noise coming from the two distracted police officers in the front seat, and the police radio chatter.

"Saving your ass." She said frowning.

"I don't need your help," he said, shaking his head.

"Clearly, you did. They were ready to lock you behind bars."

Katherine scooted closer, keeping an eye on the officers before turning her head closer to Jonathan, "If they ask, you were with me this weekend. I snuck you in so my parents wouldn't know. Ta-da. You're saved." She said.

"You are so stupid. I have no idea why you dragged yourself into this." He muttered.

_I don't know either_, she thought .

"But I did. So deal with it and go along with whatever I say, and stop insulting me in your head with those big ass words you use all the time. I know that's what you're thinking."

Jonathan actually cracked a small smile but he didn't let her see it. He stared out the window as the car sped down the busy city streets. He knew she was going to get in deep now and he wasn't sure why.

When they got downtown, they searched both of them respectively and took them into different holding cells.

Katherine was terrified beyond belief and she knew her parents were going to be so pissed.

"God, I am so stupid." She muttered to herself for the tenth time in half an hour.

"Miss Marsden, you're up." A woman said after opening her door.

_Finally._

The woman escorted her to a room where she sat down and placed her hands neatly together on the desk. There was a glass mirror in front of her and she felt slightly impressed. It was just like in the movies. But those thoughts were wiped away when she saw a man step in, tall, ashy brown hair and a mustache.

"Hello Katherine, I'm James Gordon, GPD. I'm going to be asking you a few questions to help out the amateurs here today behind the glass, answer me as honestly as you can and everything should go smoothly, all right? Your parents have been contacted and should be on their way soon." He said and she muttered a curse word under her breath.

"Now, where were you on Friday night?" he asked.

"I was at my birthday party at a friends house." She answered and he nodded.

"Until what time?" he asked.

"I stayed until late," she began. Which was true… "And then I went home." Still true.

"Did you see Jonathan that night?" he asked.

"Yes." She lied.

"Are you seeing him…?"

"Maybe."

"Yes or no?"

"It's complicated."

"Teenage love is complicated." He nodded.

_Gross._

_Her and Jonathan? Teenage love?_ She grimaced and looked away.

Officer Gordon rubbed his face tiredly and sighed, sitting on the edge of the desk next to her.

"You're aware that this is a very serious case. There's question of murder. But we could be wrong. This is now all depending on you." He said seriously.

"I'm aware." She nodded and he copied.

"Well then. What were you doing all of Saturday and Sunday?" he asked.

_At home, watching movies and stuffing my face with food, going through the birthday blues._

"I was with Jonathan. My parents were at work late those nights." She answered.

"Did you ever notice him acting strange?"

Katherine tried not to laugh, "Jonathan is one of the strangest guys I've ever met."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "He just is. He's weird. And he can be rude, and he acts like such a recluse at times but… I don't know. There's something about him; something that draws me to him wanting to know more. We've been neighbors for years and… well, I like him. I don't know if he feels the same way about me, but then again, he doesn't feel much of anything. I'd like him to like me… I want to be… something more. But he… I don't know. I guess he has trust issues or something. But I was trying to get him to get passed that this weekend." She finished and she thought about what she said.

Was all that the right thing to say? She wasn't sure.

Gordon stared at the mirror momentarily and nodded at it.

"How well did you know Regina Crane?" he asked.

That hit her a bit and she frowned immediately.

"She was a batty old lady." She answered honestly.

"Batty? How?"

"She was crazy, I don't know. Lived by a schedule. Not a normal one. I didn't know her personally but when you're neighbors with someone for almost a decade, and the most they've ever said to you was '_You insolent little girl, get off my sacred property with your devilish soliciting ways'_, I don't know, it just says something about a person. She was just so old. So old and alone. Well… not alone. She had God." She said, with a slight eye roll.

"But she also had Jonathan?" he pressed.

"Hardly." She said and bit her lip. He was going to want to get further into that and she had to choose what she said carefully.

"Hardly? What do you mean by that?" he said and she sighed.

"They didn't get along too great. I don't know much about his family, I'm sorry I can't help there, but from what I do know, his grandmother was a cruel woman. She didn't deserve what happened to her, but she was cruel."

"What exactly do you think happened to her?" the detective asked after a moment.

"I don't know. I heard lots of crazy rumors today. How did they find her?" she asked, really not wanting to know.

"With her head split open on the floor next to her bed. Would you like to see a picture?"

"No thank you." She frowned, looking down. She suddenly felt sick.

"Mrs. Crane was dressed as if she was ready to go out. Not getting out of bed. There's a lot we have to consider here. Any piece of information can help, darling." He said quietly.

Katherine took in a deep breath and looked up at the kind mans eyes. It was like he saw right through her but there was nothing either of them could do. She had to lie. He had to try and possibly believe what she said.

"I was with Jonathan this weekend. If he didn't check up on her at all, well maybe it was my fault. For keeping him. They didn't get along, and I know for a fact he tried staying out of her way as much as possible. I think she fell out of bed. She was old. I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say." She shrugged.

A few minutes later, she was released and walking out of the facility where she found her parents in the waiting room.

"Shit." She muttered.

"Katherine Elizabeth." Her mother said seriously, standing up as soon as she saw her.

"Why the hell did I get a call not only from your school but from the police that you were being questioned all for a death you weren't even involved in!" she said as she took her daughters arm and dragged her out of the police station.

Her face was angry, showing off how old she actually was. Her father looked at her sadly, studying his daughter. He wasn't sure what mess she had gotten herself into but he wanted to help her out of it.

"Mom he's our neighbor, you know that old woman, she was… she was old! She was crazy!" Katherine argued, her voice rising in pitch.

"Your father and I are going to have a long talk about this at home. I want you to go straight to your room." Her mother said in a scary calm, yet angry tone.

They got into their car and headed straight home in silence.

All throughout the day, Katherine couldn't help but worry about Jonathan.


	4. my scarecrow

The timing is going to be weird. I honestly think that the Batman movies seem pretty advanced with the technology they have so I'm going to set the future parts of the story and all that literally in the future. Like their teenage years are now, they're going to be Class of 2014, blah blah, and then the future comes and it's more…. 'futuristic' you get me? I hope so. :( haha. I'm stupid. I know. I hope this works. I hope there's no confusion and it's as easy to understand as I… understand it. LMAO. I suck. Sorry. If anything, don't think about the years too much. Okay. I'm done.

* * *

_**October 31, 2008**_

Katherine was running up and down the stairs in excitement. She could hardly contain it. Halloween was her favorite holiday, next to Christmas. She was finally allowed to dress up. It had been on her mind all day at school how happy she was she was going to break in her new costume. That and they got a new neighbor who was her age, so she was excited to have someone to talk to. She had plans of going over and asking the new boy she had seen if he wanted to go trick-or-treating with her.

As she rushed down the stairs for the last time, she cleared her throat in the kitchen where her parents were.

They looked to the side and smiled.

"Well aren't you a lovely little Dorothy?" her dad said.

Her mother winked, having done her hair in two braids on either side of her face just moments ago.

Katherine grinned, looking down at herself and she did a twirl, extending her arm to show off her basket which held a small stuffed dog plush inside. Toto. Her basket would also serve as her 'candy bag'.

"I know right? Thanks to mom, I look fabulous. Thank you mommy." She smiled as she went to hug her mom.

"I want you to come back in thirty minutes after going up and down the street alright? We'll meet up with Natalie after you get back." Her mother said and Katherine nodded.

"I'll be back, don't worry. I'll find Elsie down the street." She said and her parents waved her off as she walked out of the kitchen.

Katherine held onto her basket tightly as she tapped on he sparkly red heels and looked over to the right. The new neighbors had settled in just a month before. Jonathan was in her class as the new student and he was picked on. He didn't have many friends so she wanted to try and be his first here in Gotham. She looked behind her before breaking out into a run to the side of her house. She saw Jonathan out in the back by a shed they had towards the side of their house. He was staring longingly at the road, which was filled with kids her age and younger and with parents, all trick-or-treating.

"Hi Jonathan." She smiled.

The boy, small and lanky with a pale face, dark hair and bright blue eyes looked over at her quickly and his eyes widened.

Katherine grinned and she skipped over to him.

"Where's your costume?" she asked.

"I… didn't want one this year." He said.

"That's weird, everyone wants a costume?" she said, her eyebrows furrowing.

_How could someone not like to dress up?_ Her thoughts were running wild.

"Yeah well, I don't. I'm too old for trick-or-treating anyways." He said, crossing his arms in defense.

"We're not too old, we're just kids." She argued.

"Well, I'm not." He said in contrast.

"You're in my class, yes you are."

Jonathan huffed and rolled his eyes, "Why are you here?"

"I just came over to see if you wanted to come get candy with me. But it seems like you don't really want to." She said, slightly upset.

Jonathan's mouth twitched and he stared at the girl. Although he didn't want to admit it out loud, she looked really pretty. And he did want to go get candy with her. But he wasn't allowed.

"I'm sorry, I can't." he said.

"Oh come on, ask your parents." She smiled hopefully.

"I live with my grandma." He said quietly.

"So," she said in a 'duh' tone. "Ask your grandma. You can be my Scarecrow!" she laughed.

Jonathan's eyes widened.

"Don't ever call me that again." He said, shoving her shoulder back.

"Hey, I didn't mean it in bad way. Geez, haven't you seen The Wizard of Oz?" she frowned as she rubbed her shoulder.

"No, and in fact, I think trick-or-treating is childish. So go, be a child, be a baby. Go collect your candy and have fun rotting your teeth." He spat, as icily as an eleven year-old boy could muster.

It was at that moment that Jonathan's grandmother walked out through the back porch and noticed the pair. Her eyes turned to slits as she glared at the small girl. Katherine gasped, as if she had been caught doing something bad.

"You insolent little girl, get your devilish soliciting ways away from my boy and off my property! Now, before I get your parents!" she shouted.

That was enough to make Katherine turn in a split second and bolt out of their wide yard. She didn't stop running until she reached the road and caught up with the kids from up and down the street. She was out of breath and there were tears in her eyes. She didn't even feel like getting candy anymore.

Jonathan stared at her as she ran off and he noticed she dropped the stuffed animal from her basket. He didn't go for it knowing his grandmother was watching, and yelling at him to go inside. But he knew he'd return for it later that night after she fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked this little flashback :) If you want more in between chapters and all that, just let me know what you think!


	5. sudden interest

There's some bonding ahead ;)

* * *

Katherine lay in bed that night, her mind racing. Her parents weren't letting her out of the house; they even took her car keys away. At least they didn't take her cell phone, she had thought. Although she kind of wished they had because Natalie had blown up her phone wondering what the hell happened today.

While lost in her thoughts and mindlessly playing an app game, she was thinking about Jonathan.

_Was he okay?_

_Did they let him go?_

_Is he still being detained?_

Her head was throbbing from the pressure of laying down for hours and just thinking in general. She sat up and changed out of her clothes and headed to take a shower. Showers always helped her clear her head for a bit. Once the water started to get cooler, she figured it was time to step out and she got dressed once again. Now feeling more comfortable in her shorts and t-shirt, she sat on her desk as she looked through her phone, which she had put to charge. She had a few more missed calls from Natalie. She wasn't in the mood to talk to her though. She needed to think things through properly before talking to anyone about anything that happened. So she sent a text saying it was 'Katherine's mom' and that she'd see Katherine the following day at school. Done.

There was a noise from outside her window and she stood up to walk over to it, perching herself on the window seat.

The front porch lights from the Crane house had just turned on.

There was a police car backing out of the driveway.

Did this mean he was home again? Did they let home go?

She was itching to find out. She was letting curiosity get the better of her at the moment just like it always did when she was younger. And it usually half the time always had to do something with him.

Her parents weren't letting her go out but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. She'd sneak out.

After about an hour of waiting, and watching TV with her father in the living room, he had retreated to his bedroom for the night.

It was time and she was more than ready.

Slipping a black school sweater on, she carefully made her way out of the house through the kitchen door. She closed it quietly behind her and then she set off. Reaching the edge of the Crane property line, she took in a big breath before she continued to make her way across the lawn. Looking back at her house, she noticed the lights were off upstairs and she knew her parents would be out in no time. She walked up the steps and the porch light suddenly turned off. She froze.

There was light noises, sounding like footsteps coming from inside.

Picking up whatever courage she had left, she took the last few steps and knocked lightly on the door.

"Who is it?" Jonathan's voice asked from the other side of the door.

Katherine stepped closer hoping she wouldn't make too much noise, "It's Katherine." She whispered.

The crickets around the yard chirped loudly as she help her breath for a response and she heard a sigh heard before the light came on again and the door opened after a moment.

Jonathan stood there in the dimly lit doorstep and he stared at Katherine hard.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Katherine had noticed he was still in today's clothes.

"To jump your bones, obviously." She rolled her eyes, just as he frowned, "I came to make sure you were okay."

Jonathan looked at her and crossed his arms. "I'm better than okay now that she's gone."

The first few buttons of his shirt were open and she could see some of his pale chest and on the left side there was a bruise peeking out. She let her eyes glance at it for a moment before she looked back up.

"I'm sorry that… it happened so… gruesomely. But she was going soon one way or another, I guess." she shrugged.

"Her church wants me to attend the funeral being held. They said she prayed for me to let go of whatever demon was inside." He said, and it looked like he wanted to laugh, the corner of his mouth turned up just a few centimeters.

"How many times have you been cleansed with holy water?" she mused, crossing her arms to avoid feeling the chill that was creeping into her bones.

Jonathan smirked.

"That's why I hate church." She mumbled as an afterthought.

"Well, I'm not going to the service either way. I'm done with her. She's out of my life for good." He said and Katherine nodded.

"If you… ever… like…"

"Need anything? Give you a call?" he finished for her.

Katherine nodded, "Yes. But I mean it. You live right next door to me so…"

"Why the sudden interest?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Katherine wondered, although she knew what he meant.

"Why are you here, at my doorstep? At 1 in the morning."

Katherine shrugged, "I just… that night at the bridge scared me. It made me realize that I can't be so stuck up my own ass and I thought you were going to jump and kill yourself and I can't let that happen, not on my watch at least. Not a lot of people care to bother with you but I'm pretty sure I'm one of the only ones. So… now I just… I have to make sure you're okay. If something happens to you… I guess I'll feel like it's my fault that I didn't try hard enough." She finished and he stared at her, his lips pursed.

Katherine looked down then back up as he studied her. He didn't say anything. She wasn't sure what was going on through his head. He probably thought she was messing with him. At least that's what she thought, but she wanted him to know she was being sincere. So she said something else.

"Can we like… start over?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow, "Start over?"

"Yes," she sighed, "I'd like to be your friend. I want to know that you won't have such a boring and lonely senior year."

Jonathan snorted uncharacteristically, "I don't do friends."

"Well, your… nice… acquainted neighbor?" she said unsurely.

Katherine stuck her hand out for him to take. He stared down for a moment. And she smiled softly.

"It's not going to bite."

Jonathan rolled his eyes and brought his arm out to take her hand with a scowl on his face. She wasn't sure why he had a scowl on his face. It didn't suit him. He shouldn't be scowling.

"Stop scowling." She frowned suddenly.

"_Scowling_?"

"Yes. Stop it." She sighed, taking her hand back.

Jonathan stuck his hand into his pocket, mirroring the other. She folded her arms over her chest and closed her eyes for a moment. "Sorry." She muttered.

"I just don't know…" she stopped suddenly. She knew why he was always so serious. He had plenty of reasons to be a serious boy. With the way his grandmother treated him, the way people at school treat him, he had a reason. But she hated seeing people down. So she never understood why they didn't find a reason to smile instead.

"What are your interests?" she asked instead and Jonathan looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, like… what do you like, obviously?" she said.

"I'm going to turn the question on you first." He answered.

Katherine sighed and took a few steps back to lean on the porch rail.

"I'm interested in lots of things. When I'm mad, I dance. If I'm sad, I listen to music. It interests me and helps me take my mind off the negative even if for a little while."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow; he knew where she was going with that.

"I read." He said finally.

"That's it?" she asked.

"I never really had the privilege of being able to enjoy going to the movies or buying the latest… whatever album." He shrugged as he leaned against the door arch.

"Get a job." She thought aloud.

"Maybe." He said.

Katherine nodded and then paused before speaking again.

"Were they too harsh on you today? At the station?" she asked.

Jonathan shrugged, "They have to be. It's their job. I did what I had to. Said what I had to. They didn't have much on me and they spent the day investigating here while I was held over there. There wasn't much to find. My grandmother simply died and that's all there is to it. They sealed her door shut and there's police tape on it."

It was silent for a moment before he spoke after watching her carefully. She had been staring at the ground thoughtfully, listening to him and chewing on her bottom lip.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

"No… maybe a little. Why?" she asked.

"You have goose bumps all down your legs."

Katherine looked down and noticed that she indeed had goose bumps from mid-thigh down her legs. She moved her feet and shrugged.

"I should get going." She said.

"You should." He agreed.

"Can I trust that you won't… do anything rash… or you won't hurt yourself?" she dared to ask.

Jonathan looked at her for a few seconds without blinking before he nodded slowly.

"You can trust me."

"Good. I'll umm… I'll see you around." She nodded.

"Good night Katherine." He said, pushing up the glasses on his nose as he backed up into the doorway and shut the door while she stood there.

The porch light turned off and she made her way down the steps from his house and back to her own.


	6. nothing good

Filler… bleh… I know….. sorrrrryyyyyyy.

* * *

"I cannot believe that happened!"

Katherine winced at how loud her best friend was being, drawing more attention to them than necessary

"Shh! Natty… calm down." She frowned.

"That guy is crazy… I can't believe he dragged you into this." She huffed.

They had been walking around the soccer fields of the school all of lunch and they had just arrived to their lockers. Forty-five minutes flew by quick when you had to tell your best friend how they questioned you in an interrogation room at a police station because your neighbor's grandmother died and no one really knew how it happened.

Katherine internally rolled her eyes at how dramatic her best friend had been the entire morning. She had promised her as soon as she saw her that she would explain everything during their lunch hour. And now that she had, she couldn't stop being more annoying about the situation she wasn't even a part of.

"He didn't drag me into anything," Katherine said, shaking her head as she dialed in the combination to her lock, "I told you… I told them how I knew where he was this weekend. He wasn't at home because I saw him leave before I went to your house." She lied.

So she hadn't been totally honest because she wasn't sure how to tell Natalie that she lied to the police about where Jonathan actually was. Which… she didn't really know? Which made it all worse. She wasn't just lying to cops now; she was lying to her best friend. She knew exactly which one was worse in this case.

"It just doesn't make sense… you slept over my house so how would you know if he didn't come back and…" she lowered her voice before looking around and back to her friend, "_murdered her_?"

Katherine had had enough.

"Okay, Natalie, would you just drop it?" she asked loudly, slamming her locker shut. "I have to get to class. I'll talk to you later." She said looking around as a good amount of students stopped what they were doing to stare at her.

Across the hall, Jonathan stood with a bag on his shoulder and a textbook in hand. He had been watching her and she knew it too. She could tell. He had a deep frown on his face and she sighed as she pushed her way through the crowded hallway to get to her next class. She couldn't shake off the feeling that what she did was wrong. She knew it.

But it was too late to back out of it now; what was done is done. No going back.

That afternoon, Katherine sat at the bar in her kitchen eating a bowl of cereal.

Skipping lunch had caught up to her.

Her father wasn't due home for a few hours and her mom was out buying groceries and would be home at any time. She tried eating as fast as she could so she could avoid her mother, (who was very upset with her) but as fate would have it, that wasn't happening. Just as she finished rinsing her bowl, her mother walked into the house and appeared in the kitchen with an arm full of bags.

"You want to help me with the rest of these in the car please?" she asked, slightly out of breath as she set the heavy bags down on the counter.

"Yes." Katherine said, keeping her head down as she walked out.

Taking as many bags as she could in both arms, she huffed and walked quickly in the house, her mother passing her without a word and she set the bags down next to the others. She had brought in enough so that her mother could make the last trip and be done. She heard the front door close and she bit her lip as she started take all the items of their bags. It was silent for a few minutes, an awkward silence between them. Her mother hadn't said many things to her in the last day and it wasn't a good feeling. Just as she set a few boxes of dry noodles in the pantry she heard her mother sigh.

"Katherine, what happened?" she asked.

Katherine's head dropped before she turned and saw her mother with her hand on her hip and holding onto a bottle of detergent. Her hair was up in a ponytail, tightening her face up a bit and she looked as if she was ready to cry.

"What do you mean?" Katherine asked quietly.

"You know what I mean," her mother said, "You and that boy."

"Jonathan?" Katherine offered.

Julia looked at her daughter, slightly upset as she brought her hands to her hips.

"I don't know," she said quickly, "I invited him to the house while you two were working the night after my birthday. He spent the weekend with me. That's what I told the cops." She answered.

Katherine hated with every part of her being lying to her mother. Her dad wasn't that bad, but her mom? She always knew. She wasn't sure how but she always knew.

"Is it the truth?" her mother asked, "Honey, is it true or is he getting you to say that? Did you lie to get yourself or him out of the situation, please baby, tell me!" Her mother said exasperated.

"I don't know what else to tell you," Katherine shrugged, "Mom, I found him a few nights ago at the Henley Canal ready to jump! He wanted to kill himself! Do you really think he would kill his grandmother when he wanted to kill himself?! He was scared, he's alone. He doesn't have anyone, why would he kill off the only other relative he has!" Katherine said loudly.

Julia put a hand up to her forehead and tried to gather herself for her daughter's sake.

"I'm sorry baby, it's just… when I got that call, a million things went through my head. What actually happened was the last thing I ever thought." She admitted. "I've told you countless times when you were younger not to mess with that boy. Regina was a strange old lady and I knew nothing good could ever come out of hanging around next door. Now look where it's landed you, not listening to my warnings." She shook her head.

"I'm sorry mom. I didn't mean for any of this to happen or to worry you, I swear." Katherine answered.

After a moment, Katherine walked up to her mom and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"I really am sorry. And I'm glad that I have someone like you to look out after me." She said honestly.

Julia rolled her eyes, "Yeah well, start listening more, alright? Your father and I handled the situation and if the police come knocking on our doors again we have our lawyers ready." She said.

"Okay, thank you. That's good to know. I'm… going to go shower and do some homework."

Her mother nodded, "I'll start dinner soon."

After what happened in the kitchen, Katherine wasn't sure how much longer she could get away with all the lying. It was eating her up inside. She wasn't used to these situations. Lying always came easy to her and now it suddenly wasn't and she was feeling bad for it? She sighed to herself. It was going to be a difficult last few months of senior year.


End file.
